The Rings of Salammis

The Launch - Part 5

     In the chamber above the bridge, Tana Antallan gave the command to the Orb of Propulsion and the dull red glow that lit it from within grew fractionally brighter. A moment later the image in the scrying mirror showed the dull white globe of the Ship of Space rising slowly out of its cradle like a conjurer's trick, edging its way slowly closer to the open doorway. It squeezed through the opening with just a foot or two's clearance on every side (the moon trogs believed in making every doorway as small as possible, in case of catastrophic air leaks) and then they were in the shaft. A hundred and twenty yards long and thirty yards wide, its mirror smooth sides testifying to the magic spells used to create it. The image in the mirror showed the ship rising into the ceiling and passing out of sight.

     Saturn gave a command, and the image changed to show a scene of the moon's craggy, lifeless surface; a crazy jumble of blinding white and midnight black. Sharp edged and jagged, painful for the eyes to look at for long. Thomas felt his heart pounding and his stomach fluttering with excitement as he searched the scene for the entrance to the shaft, and his eye settled on a large patch of blackness in the centre of the image. When the ship finally rose into view, though, looking like a pale ghost rising from a forgotten grave, it did so from behind a boulder the size of a house streaked with the blues and greens of mineral ores. We're in space! he thought in breathless excitement. We're in space! Wait 'till I tell Elmias!

     He fidgeted with energy, unable to sit still, and Saturn shot him a warning glance. "Did I make a mistake allowing you to sit with us?" he snapped. "If you cannot control yourself, kindly leave."

     "I'm sorry, master," said Thomas. He made an attempt to sit still, but his heart continued to hammer and his eyes glowed as he watched the beautiful, awesome, wonderful image in the mirror.

     Saturn handed the Coronet of Farspeaking to Rin Wellin, telling him to remain in contact with the harbourmaster, then replaced it with the Helm of Farsensing. Eventually there would be six of the magical helmets, one for every member of the bridge crew and one for the orbmaster, but Weeden Jart was still working on the others and only expected to be able to complete one every two weeks, maybe even longer if he encountered problems. For now, therefore, Saturn was the only one aboard who knew where they were and where they were going, a situation that didn't seem to trouble him overmuch..

     The wizard closed his eyes to concentrate for a few minutes, then gave a series of instructions to the orbmaster, carried to him by the permanent magic spells that transmitted all sounds in the bridge through the solid steel deck into the chamber above, while at the same time blocking all sound travelling in the opposite direction. The shae folk weren't taking any chances of the humans hearing something that might give them some clue as to the creation and operation of their magical orbs. Hearing Saturn's commands, therefore, Tana Antallan made an adjustment to the glowing Orb and the great globular ship slowly began to turn, tilting over onto its side.

     To Saturn, it seemed that all of space was revolving slowly around him, as if the universe were a great black shell with him at the centre. For a moment he was disoriented, and if he'd been standing he might have staggered a few steps until he managed to grab something to steady himself, but being seated he was able to disguise his momentary nausea and gave no sign of his discomfort to the four men studying him in silent fascination.

     He gave further instructions to the orbmaster, turning the ship this way and that, until their destination, the great metal ring spinning in space, was directly above them. He then gave one final instruction and the ship began to move upwards, the direction in which the shayen Orbs of Propulsion always directed the majority of their thrust. It would have meant a major redesign, and a great deal of research, to redirect their thrust so that the Ship of Space moved horizontally, like a 'real' ship, and both the shae folk and the Lexandrian wizards had decided that it wasn't worth the bother. Inside the ship, it was impossible to tell in what direction they were moving anyway, so those members of the crew lacking the education to understand three dimensional navigation could quite happily believe they were moving horizontally without ever realising their mistake, and without needing to.